Amazon Merchant-Fulfilled Order Fulfillment

Amazon merchant fulfilled order fulfillment means the orders are yours to ship and Amazon grades you on how you ship them. We pick, pack and ship those orders from our Fort Worth warehouse on ShipHero, next to your Shopify and WooCommerce orders, and the tracking goes back to the Amazon order.

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Rows of taped cardboard boxes stacked on a warehouse floor, each marked with fragile and this-way-up symbols

Orders run on: ShipHero
Channel SKUs: Mapped as kits to one stock count
Shipped from: Fort Worth, TX 76177

A channel Amazon grades you on

On a merchant-fulfilled order, Amazon sets the ship-by date and you own the shipment, so every late or untracked package lands on your seller account.

Merchant-fulfilled, or FBM, is the Amazon setting where you store the inventory and ship the order yourself instead of sending it into FBA. Sellers use it for slow movers, for items that cost more to hold in FBA than they earn, and as a fallback when FBA stock runs out. Each of those orders arrives with a ship-by date built from the handling time you set in Seller Central, and Amazon checks the result against your account.

That makes Amazon a different channel from a Shopify store, where a slow shipment costs a customer's patience. On Amazon it also moves the numbers on your Account Health page. Handing those orders to a 3PL only works if the 3PL ships to the window you set, gets valid tracking onto every package, and keeps the stock count honest so you never cancel an order for a unit that was not there.

At Marketplace Prep, Amazon merchant-fulfilled orders run on the same ShipHero floor as the rest of our DTC fulfillment. We agree the ship window and handling time with you when the engagement is scoped. We do not publish a blanket turnaround guarantee, because the honest window depends on your order profile.

What Amazon measures on these orders

These are Amazon's published targets for seller-fulfilled orders, measured on your seller account. They are Amazon's rules, not promises we make. The right-hand column is the part of each one a warehouse actually touches.

MetricAmazon's targetWhat the warehouse controls

Late Shipment Rate

Under 4%. A shipment confirmed after its expected ship date counts as late.

Picking and confirming the order inside the window that matches the handling time you set in Seller Central.

Valid Tracking Rate

95% or more of seller-fulfilled shipments carrying a valid tracking number.

Buying the label in ShipHero so the carrier and tracking number go back to the Amazon order, never a hand-keyed number.

Cancellation rate

Under 2.5% of orders canceled by the seller before they ship.

An accurate stock count across every channel, so an Amazon order is not accepted against a unit that already shipped on Shopify.

Amazon can restrict selling privileges on an account that misses these targets, and it publishes the current thresholds in Seller Central. Check them there before you plan around a number on any third-party page, this one included.

How your Amazon orders run here

Each of these runs against one inventory record in ShipHero, so an Amazon order, a Shopify order and a return all move the same count.

The loop closes on Amazon. The tracking from the ShipHero label goes back to the order itself, never a hand-keyed number.

Pick, pack and ship

Amazon merchant-fulfilled orders land in ShipHero through the channel connection, get picked against live inventory in our Fort Worth warehouse, and ship on a carrier label bought in ShipHero. Once the label is bought, the shipment and its tracking go back to the order.

Channel SKUs mapped as kits

Amazon gives your product its own seller SKU, and so does every other channel. We keep the stock on one master product and set each channel SKU as a kit of one that points at it. One live account runs its Amazon listings this way today, so the Amazon SKU and the store SKU report the same available count.

Bundles built as virtual kits

A bundle sold on Amazon as one listing can be configured as a kit in ShipHero, with its availability worked out from the components on the shelf. Kits ship as one order line and draw the components down as they go.

Inserts and your own packaging

Printed inserts, marketing collateral and branded packaging you supply can go into the box on request. That work is scoped with you before it runs.

Returns sent back to the warehouse

When a buyer return comes back to us, we receive it, check its condition, restock what is sellable and flag anything damaged for your decision. If returns become a large part of the work, we'll work with you to evaluate rates.

A WhatsApp group for exceptions

Every client gets a dedicated WhatsApp group at onboarding. An address problem, a short pick or a buyer asking about an order gets answered in the thread, not queued as a ticket.

Amazon MCF or a 3PL

Multi-Channel Fulfillment is Amazon's service for shipping your non-Amazon orders out of FBA inventory. It is a real alternative to a 3PL, and for some sellers it is the better one. The difference comes down to where your stock sits and what the box has to look like.

FactorAmazon MCFA 3PL like Marketplace Prep

Where the stock sits

In FBA, in the same pool that serves your Amazon orders.

In our Fort Worth warehouse, shared across your store and your merchant-fulfilled Amazon listings.

Which orders it ships

Orders from your other sales channels. Your Amazon orders stay in FBA.

Shopify and WooCommerce orders, plus the Amazon orders you have set to merchant-fulfilled.

The box

Unbranded packaging by default.

Your own packaging and printed inserts on request, supplied by you.

Fees

Set by Amazon and changed by Amazon, surcharges included. Check the current schedule.

Published per-order rates, with custom work quoted before it starts.

Who you talk to

Seller Central support.

The team packing your orders, in your WhatsApp group.

If nearly all your stock already lives in FBA and your other channels are small, MCF is usually the simpler answer. If the unboxing matters to your brand, if your bundles need building, or if you want Amazon merchant-fulfilled orders and store orders shipping from one count, a 3PL fits better. Many sellers run both: FBA for fast Amazon movers, and a 3PL for everything else. If that is you, see FBA prep and DTC fulfillment under one roof.

Who this is built for

Amazon merchant-fulfilled orders fit here when they are one channel of a working ecommerce operation, not the whole reason for the warehouse.

A fit

Brands selling on a Shopify or WooCommerce store that also keep some or all Amazon listings merchant-fulfilled.
Sellers who keep part of their Amazon catalog merchant-fulfilled and want those orders shipped inside the handling window, with valid tracking.
Catalogs where the same product is listed under different SKUs on different channels and needs one stock count behind them.
Sellers who want a person to message when an Amazon order goes sideways, not a ticket queue.

How onboarding works

Four steps from the first call to the first Amazon order shipping out of Fort Worth.

01

Discovery call

We go through your channels, your order profile, your SKU mix and the handling time on your Amazon listings, and we say plainly whether the operation is one we should take.

02

Scoped agreement

The ship window, kits, inserts and returns handling are written into the agreement. Your prepaid wallet is funded before work begins, and your WhatsApp group is set up.

03

Connect, map and test

Your Amazon and store channels connect into ShipHero, channel SKUs are mapped to their master products, and the integration is tested before any live order runs through it.

04

Send inventory and go live

Inventory comes in to 1925 Golden Heights Rd in Fort Worth, and receiving clean case packs carries no charge. Once it is counted against the master products, merchant-fulfilled orders start shipping.

Questions we get

Can a 3PL ship my Amazon merchant-fulfilled orders?

Yes. When your Amazon listings are set to merchant-fulfilled, the orders are yours to ship, and a 3PL can ship them for you. At Marketplace Prep the Amazon channel connects into ShipHero, the order is picked and packed in our Fort Worth warehouse, and the shipment goes back to the Amazon order with its carrier and tracking number. Amazon still holds you, the seller, to its seller-fulfilled performance targets, so the ship window and the handling time you set in Seller Central are agreed during onboarding.

Do you offer Seller Fulfilled Prime or the Prime badge?

No. We do not run Seller Fulfilled Prime, and orders we ship do not carry Prime badge eligibility. We ship standard Amazon merchant-fulfilled orders, without the Prime badge. If the Prime badge on seller-fulfilled orders is the requirement, we are not the right fit for that part of your catalog today.

Should I use Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment or a 3PL for my non-Amazon orders?

It depends on where your stock already sits and what the order has to look like when it arrives. Multi-Channel Fulfillment ships non-Amazon orders out of the inventory you already have in FBA, so if most of your stock lives there and your other channels are small, it is a reasonable choice. MCF now ships in unbranded packaging by default, and its fees and surcharges are set and changed by Amazon, so check the current schedule before you plan around it. A 3PL makes more sense when you want your own packaging or inserts in the box, kits built to your spec, returns coming back to a warehouse you can talk to, and one stock count across your store and your merchant-fulfilled Amazon listings.

What shipping metrics does Amazon measure on seller-fulfilled orders?

Amazon's published targets for seller-fulfilled orders include a Late Shipment Rate under 4%, a Valid Tracking Rate of 95% or more, and a pre-fulfillment cancellation rate under 2.5%. These are Amazon's rules, measured on your seller account, and Amazon can restrict selling privileges when an account misses them. They are not numbers we guarantee. What we control is the part that feeds them: shipping inside the window we agree with you, getting a valid tracking number onto every shipment, and keeping the stock count accurate so an order is never canceled for inventory that was not on the shelf.

Can you ship Amazon and Shopify orders from the same inventory?

Yes. Amazon and Shopify usually give the same product different SKUs, and ShipHero has no SKU alias feature, so we map each channel SKU as a kit of one that points at a single master product. The master holds the physical stock, and every channel listing draws on it. One live account runs its Amazon channel SKUs exactly this way, so an Amazon order and a Shopify order for the same item pull from the same count.

What order volume do you take for Amazon merchant-fulfilled orders?

Volume is counted in orders, across every channel we ship for you, and there is no ceiling. The floor is about 30 orders a month, because we are a fulfillment operation rather than a storage unit: your products should be shipping, not sitting. The real limit is how much storage space your catalog needs against our free capacity, which we look at on the first call.

Which other channels can you fulfill alongside Amazon?

We fulfill Shopify and WooCommerce orders through ShipHero, alongside Amazon merchant-fulfilled orders, and we run FBA prep in the same building if part of your Amazon catalog also goes into FBA. Your store has to integrate with ShipHero, and we test that integration before the first live order ships.

Shipping Amazon orders yourself? Let's scope it.

Tell us which channels you sell on, how many orders a month go out, and the handling time on your Amazon listings. We will tell you whether it fits and what the operation would look like.